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BAY CITY, MI — From the day she was born, Signe Nielsen and the tall ship Sørlandet shared a kinship that kept the two together — even if an ocean often separated them — for more than eight decades.

When the 205-foot-long vessel arrives in Nielsen’s hometown of Bay City on July 12 as part of the community’s Tall Ship Celebration, it will mark the latest connection that began when the two were launched into this world on Jan. 6, 1927 along the south coast Norway town of Kristiansand.

Nielsen was born on the same day the Sørlandet, built in a shipyard across the lawn from her home, made its maiden voyage.